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A summer-long celebration of hay meadows in the Yorkshire Dales has been launched with a wildflower planting session.

A full programme of events is being made available through a joint project by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

The project aims to highlight the bio-diversity and cultural heritage of the Dales' hay meadows through exhibitions and other events.

It was officially launched by Matthew Wilson, Head of Site and Curator of RHS Garden at Harlow Carr, near Harrogate.

As well as unveiling the newly refurbished national park centre in Grassington, Mr Wilson started the festival off with a wildflower planting session, along with students from Craven College who were given grass and flower seeds from hay meadows. These have been germinated and were planted in a picnic area in the grounds of the national park centre.

Mr Wilson said the Dales had been shaped by the interaction between people and the landscape and said the Hay Time Project - launched by the YDMT last year - and the hay festival, would play an important part in explaining that interaction.

"Hay production is nothing compared to what it used to be, everything has changed, and the relationship between the farm-ing landscape and the wild plants and wildlife is under threat as a consequence," he said.

"I really welcome the work that has gone on interpreting that interaction. I think it is a really interesting new development and I hope it will explain to generations of people the importance of the farming landscape."

7:41pm Friday 16th May 2008

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